Holder for phonograph album records



Dec. 18, 1956 J. G. JOSEPH HOLDER FOR PHONOGRAPH ALBUM RECORDS Filed May 24, 1955 l2 4 Lo 26 44 5 38 r I \l(\ y\\ l a 7 4o 5? I 7'. I \l i l I E 4 I kdl INVENTOR.

Jae. GJqsepH BY v swam); ATTOQMEYS t l l i U ia S a s Patent 2,774,615 HOLDER FOR PHONOGRAPH ALBUM RECORDS Joe G. Joseph,'San Antonio, Tex.

Application May 24, 1955, Serial No. 510,617

3 Claims. (Cl. 281-20) This invention relates to a device adapted to hold a phonograph record album, particularly an album of the book type.

Conventionally, record albums of the type referred to have their record-enclosing envelopes or pages exposed at the tops, outer sides, and bottoms of said envelopes. Since said envelopes are open at the top, dust tends to settle within the envelopes, and often is ground into the records, affecting adversely the faithful reproduction of sounds when the record is played.

Still further, if the album is kept in an upright position when not in use, the weight of the records on the closed lower ends of the envelopes tends to weaken the envelopes at said lower ends thereof, often in time causing the sides of the envelopes to part, with the result that the records drop out and may become damaged, apart from the damage done to the album itself.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a holder for record albums which will be in the nature of an attachment to a conventional album, and will be so designed as to eliminate the several undesirable characteristics of record albums of the type noted above, first by fully enclosing the open upper ends of the envelope-like pages of the album, and second, by providing a firm support for the envelopes at their lower ends when, for example, the album is being taken from a shelf and is being transported to another location for use of the records housed therein.

Another object is to so form the holder as to provide an attractive covering for the album, which will reinforce the album not only along its top and bottom, but also along its binding, thus to insure against the covers of the album tearing away from the binding over a period of time.

A further object of importance is to provide a holder as described which will be capable of being manufactured at a minimum of cost. To this end, the holder is formed in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the invention from a single piece of molded plastic material, having a simple yet effective shape, and including as an important operating feature thereof an inherent springiness in the portion thereof that connects the top and bottom parts of the holder, the springy construction of said portion being such as to permit the top part, or for that matter the bottom part, to be lifted out of engagement with the album to an extent suflicient to permit the album to be removed with a minimum amount of difficulty.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a record album holder formed according to the present invention, a supported album being shown in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of Figure 1,

M 2,774,615 lca Patented Dec. 1 1956 2 the album being shownjn full lines, the dotted lines showing the lifted upper part of the device; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view online 3-3 of Figure 2.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally in the figures of the drawing to the holder constituting the present invention. At 12 there has been designated a conventional phonograph record album of the book type, including the usual back or binding and the front and back covers confining between them envelope pages 14 opening at their upper ends to receive records 16.

The holder 10 is formed as shown in the drawing from a single piece of molded plastic material. It includes an elongated, rectangular, flat top plate 18 normally disposed in a horizontal plane. At its opposite ends, the top plate is integral with depending end walls coextensive in width with the plate 18, and integral with the opposite side edges of the plate 18 are depending flanges 24. The flanges 24, for the greatest parts of their lengths, are narrower than the depending end walls 20, 22, but at their opposite ends have end portions 26, 28 of greater width, than are coextensive in width with the depth or vertical dimension of the end walls 20, 22.

The holder further includes a flat bottom plate 29 vertically aligned with the top plate 18, and formed to the same length, width, and outer configuration as the top plate. The bottom plate 29 is integrally formed at its opposite ends with upwardly projecting end walls 30, 34, identical but opposite to the end walls 20, 22. Extending between the end walls, along opposite sides of the bottom plate 29, and integral with the bottom plate 29 and the end walls 30, 32 are upwardly projecting, relatively narrow flanges 34 having end portions 36, 38 of increased width.

Extending between and integral with the end Walls 20, 30 is a connecting portion 40 reduced in width as com pared to the width of the end walls 20, 30 so as to impart a greater springiness thereto. The connecting portion 40 is disposed in a vertical plane common to the plane of the end walls 20, 30 when the holder is normally positioned as shown in full lines in Figure 2.

In use, a record album is confined in the holder in the manner shown in Figure 2. It will be noted that the top plate will overlie the open upper ends of the several envelope pages 14, and it will further be seen that the side flanges 24 will engage against the opposite covers of the albums, on the outside of said covers. Further, the end Wall 22 engages against the upper end of the back binding, while the other end walls 20 and the connecting portion 40 are disposed against the outer side of the album. The plate 29 supports the album at its bottom, underlying the several envelopes in protective relation thereto.

With the album thus supported, the interior of the album will be completely enclosed against dust, and the records will be properly protected in such a manner as to reduce to a maximum the possibility of damage being caused thereto. It is important to note, in this regard, that the top portion of the device is so shaped as to not only overlie the top of the album, but also to engage against the side of the top of the album through the full periphery of said top, thus to in effect seal the album' at its upper end against the admission of dirt or dust.

When the album is to be removed, one need only grasp the end wall 22 and lift the same to the dotted line position shown in Figure 2. The connecting portion 40, in this regard, is of inherently springable characteristics, to permit the top plate to be shifted upwardly as shown. With the top plate elevated, one can next shift the top plate slightly to the left in Figure 2, after which it is released. This Will cause the end Wall 22 to swing downwardly under the force of the connecting portion 40, into engagement with the top edges of the covers of the book. The book may now be lifted out of the flanged bottom plate 29, andremoved by movement thereof to the right in Figure 2.

It will be observed that the construction is one which permits the album to be firmly reinforced, against the possibility of damage. Further, the album is fully protected at the several corners thereof, thus preservingthe appearance of the album for an indefinite period of time. The holder, as will be noted, can be manufactured at a relatively low cost, and of course, will be in various sizes, to accommodate conventional albums of corresponding sizes. Means can be incorporated in the holder, as will be understood, to receive an index tab or the like to facilitate identification of the album.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for a phonograph album comprising: a C-shaped member including rigidly formed top and bottom plates adapted to overlie the top and bottom ends, respectively, of an upstanding album positioned between said plates so that the upper end is adjacent the top plate and the lower end is adjacent the bottom plate, and a connecting portion integrally connected at its ends to and extending between the plates at corresponding ends of the plates to overlie the back of the album, said connecting portion being inherently resilient and biasing the plates by its resiliency toward each other into engagement with said upper and lower ends of the album.

2. A holder for a phonograph album comprising: a C-shaped member including flat, normally parallel top and bottom plates adapted to overlie the top and bottom ends, respectively, of an upstanding album positioned between said plates so that the upper end is adjacent the top plate and the lower end is adjacent the bottom plate, said plates being formed with longitudinal side flanges rigidifying the same against flexure, and a normally straight connecting portion integrally connected at its ends to and extending between the plates at one end of the plates to overlie the back of the album, said flanges terminating at the junctures of the plates with the connecting portion, to permit the connecting portion to flex into a curved position for shifting the plates out of parallelism, the connecting portion being inherently resilient and biasing the plates by its resiliency toward each other into engagement with said upper and lower ends of the album.

3. A holder for a phonograph album comprising: a C-shaped member including wide, flat, normally parallel top and bottom plates adapted to overlie the top and bottom ends, respectively, of an upstanding album positioned between said plates so that the upper end is adjacent the top plate "and the lower end is adjacent the bottom plate, said plates being formed wih longitudinal side flanges rigidifying the same against flexure, and a normally straight connecting portion integrally connected at its ends to and extending between the plates at one end of the plates to overlie the back of the album, said flanges terminating at the juncture of the plates with the connecting portion to permit the connecting portion to flex into a curved position for shifting the plates out of parallelism, the connecting portion being narrower than the plates and being inherently resilient, said connecting portion biasing the plates by its resiliency toward each other into engagement with said upper and lower ends of the album.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,657,072 Harrington Oct. 27, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 270,395 Great Britain May 5, 1927 

